Media Release

Officers from the Hawai’i Police Department began making bicycle patrols in Hilo at the beginning of April. Bike patrols will be added shortly in Kona and Puna.

Since the bike patrols began, police have already seen positive results in the areas of liquor enforcement, drug enforcement and community satisfaction, said Lieutenant Jason Cortez, who supervises the department’s Community Policing Section. “Feedback from the community has been great,” Cortez said. “The officers were actually cheered when they rode through downtown Hilo.”

Ten officers received special bicycle training: four in Hilo, four in Puna and two in Kona. The Police Department plans to train additional officers in Kona.

Cortez noted that officers will begin bike patrols in downtown Pahoa in the very near future.